The mood shifts, though I’m not sure why. Reaper extracts himself from me, standing abruptly and wiping a hand down his face. I sit up, giving him a questioning look. “Did I do something wrong?” I ask, tucking my legs underneath me and wrapping my arms around my torso in a protective hold.
“No,” comes his grunted response. Reaper refuses to meet my gaze as he walks toward the front door, shoves his feet into his boots before grabbing a jacket. “I… I have club business to attend to. I might be gone until late tonight.”
“Oh,” I reply. I’m too shocked and confused to say anything else.
“It’s not… I’m… and you’re…” Reaper sighs and shakes his head, unable to get any more words out. He finally rests his eyes on mine, a look of longing and frustration staring back at me.
I open my mouth to say something, anything, but it’s too late. He slips out the front door, and moments later, I hear his bike roaring to life.
My head is scrambled after the day I had, let alone everything I’ve been through in the last week. What the hell just happened? Was I so bad at kissing that he got secondhand embarrassment and had to leave? Did he realize I’m a million leagues beneath him and run off to find someone else more experienced?
My eyelids grow heavier the more my thoughts swirl and tumble in my mind. I don’t want to fall asleep, but my body doesn’t give me a choice.
7
REAPER
Ireturn home hours later, close to midnight. As soon as I step inside and see Lynx curled up on the couch, I know I messed up by leaving. Has she been here the whole time? God, I’m an asshole.
There wasn’t any club business; I just needed some air and space to process the fact that my life would never be the same. It scared the hell out of me at first. How could I already be addicted to everything about this woman?
It’s not fair to Lynx. I’d ruin her innocence, ravage her over and over until my name is the only thing she can remember. She deserves so much better, but I’m not sure I can let her go. I tried convincing myself it’s because I care about her safety, and nothing more, but that pretense fell apart almost instantly. I do care about her safety, but I also care about her happiness, her dreams, her past, and most definitely her future.
A soft gasp and then a pained whimper cut through my scrambled thoughts, and I rush to Lynx’s side. She’s asleep, her eyes squeezed shut and her soft, pouty lips twisted into a frown. Lynx thrashes her head to the left, then to the right, a pained look taking over her features.
I’m not sure what to do or how to help. Should I carry her to her room? Or would that only be more confusing and scary when she wakes up? I don’t know. I don’t know how to handle someone so precious.
My fingers lightly graze Lynx’s temple, trailing down her rounded cheek and then across her jawline. It pleases me more than it should when she relaxes, as if she recognizes my touch.
Lynx stirs, then opens her eyes. I’m expecting her to be angry or, worse, cry. Instead, relief floods her face. She sits up and pats the seat next to her, shocking the hell out of me.
“You still want to talk to me?” I ask, joining her on the couch. “After I left you?”
Lynx nods. “I was confused at first, but then I realized you were scared of your emotions and you needed to work through them in your own space and time.”
My jaw drops open, making Lynx grin. “Wise beyond your years,” I finally say, scooting a little closer to my woman. If she’ll agree to be mine, that is.
“Or maybe you’re immature for your advanced age?” That spark in her green eyes is back, loosening the knot I’ve had in my chest ever since walking out the door earlier.
“Advanced age?” I growl playfully.
She nods and giggles as I lunge toward her, tickling her sides until she collapses onto my lap. I pull Lynx closer, adjusting our position so she’s straddling me. Her hands slide up my chest, and she nibbles on her bottom lip, as if deciding what she wants to do with me.
I rest my forehead on hers, taking a moment to breathe her in before things go any further. “I’m sorry I left,” I whisper.
“Me, too,” she answers in all seriousness before cracking a smile.
“You forgive me?”
Instead of answering with words, Lynx presses her lips to mine. Her message is loud and clear; she wants to pick up where we left off. I’m not one to disappoint.
She sinks into my kiss, melting into me and driving me wild with each roll of her hips. I run my hands up her thighs and torso until they cup the sides of her neck. My thumbs trace light circles on the underside of her jaw. She swallows thickly, and I groan when I feel her throat muscles working against my hands.
“I forgive you,” she murmurs, rubbing her nose against mine before going in for another kiss.
Her lips part beneath mine as she slides her tongue into my mouth, immediately taking control of the kiss. I breathe her in and grip her hips, helping her grind down on me to get the friction she needs. Lynx moans and arches her back, breaking our kiss.
I continue lavishing kisses down her neck, pulling her sensitive skin between my teeth and then licking the sting away. Lynx shifts, resting a hand behind her on my knee, opening herself up for more of my attention.
